Putin Police Goons Break Up Democratic Protest In Moscow

Riot police broke up a march against President Vladmir Putin and arrested chess legend Garry Kasparov and several other opposition leaders. The marchers were peaceful and solely intent on presenting a petition questioning the adherence to democratic principles by authorities in the upcoming election when police armed with truncheons moved in on the marchers. The protest group had just come from an authorized meeting and simply wanted to present a petition. Kaspartov commented: “Once more they have demonstrated that the only language they can use with their own people is the language of violence, truncheons, and riot police.” He was then immediately surrounded by police and hustled into a police van.

The attack on Kasparov is simply another in a series of actions against anyone or dares oppose the rule of Putin. Although, opposition to Putin is weak and fragmented, the president appears obsessed with eliminating any semblance of opposition to this rule. In a sense, Putin is living up to his education and training in the KGB.